1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to self-chilling beverage containers.
2. The Prior Art
Self-chilling beverage and food containers are known. Typically, the overall container is of the type in which there is a container within container construction, to create separate, inner and outer containment regions. A coolant material is placed in one of the regions, and the material (e.g., beverage) to be cooled is placed in the other of the regions. The coolant material may be placed in the innermost container, typically, although it may be placed in the space between the inner and outer container walls. The coolant material may comprise a compressed gas material, with or without another material. When the entire container, including the coolant material and the beverage, is at ambient temperature, release of the compressed gas material results in an endothermic reaction that causes rapid heat transfer from the beverage into the region formerly occupied by the compressed gas. This causes the beverage to be rapidly cooled.
Several such devices are known in the prior art.
Beck, U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,975 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,856, for example, disclose self-chilling containers in which an inner chamber contains a pressurized refrigerant, preferably Freon.
Halimi, U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,038, discloses a self-chilling beverage container, which uses compressed carbon dioxide gas, as the refrigerant material.
Anthony, U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,703, discloses a self-chilling food or beverage container, which employs a refrigerant gas, and a vortex tube in the heat exchange unit, which causes a portion of the refrigerant to be recondensed and returned to the coolant reservoir, to provide for elongated cooling period.
Joslin, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,391, discloses a self-chilling beverage container that uses a refrigerant that is a combination of at least one liquefied petroleum gas and a halogen gas.
In each of these prior art embodiments, only a refrigerant gas is used, with no additional material, in an inner coolant reservoir. Accordingly, once the gas has been released, the container immediately beings to reheat from ambient, as the emptied inner container or cartridge has relatively little thermal inertia, and little capacity for further absorbing heat.
An improved version of the self-chilling can has been developed and marketed as the Chill-Can(copyright) which is believed to have been developed from a British Oxygen Company Limited originally patented design, and subsequently marketed by Chill-Can N.V. In this particular self-chilling beverage container, a first inner container, having an opening at one end, is inserted into and sealingly affixed, at the periphery of the open end, to the periphery of one end of a double-open-ended outer container.
A quantity of solid carbon material, including graphite, is placed in the inner container. An actuating valve covers the open end of the inner container. The charging gas, preferably CO2 gas, is then loaded into the inner container, using the well-known xe2x80x9cequilibrium fillingxe2x80x9d technique.
However, it is known that in order to put sufficient CO2 gas into the inner container, pressures are required that are so high that considerable heat is created during the filling process. While the initial step of the filling process may place 50%-70% of the required gas into the cylinder, the heat generated makes it difficult to quickly continue to fill the chamber. Accordingly, it becomes necessary to pause in the filling process, so that heat is dissipated from the inner container""s carbon content, to permit filling to resume. A conventional equilibrium filling procedure, for such a self-chilling container can take up to 10 to 15 minutes. Such an excessive filling time is completely inadequate for the kind of high-speed mass production rates desired for beer and soft drink manufacture and distribution.
Indeed, even the simpler, prior art charged compressed gas self-chilling containers suffer from this drawback.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method for accelerated filling of the coolant reservoirs for self-chilling beverage and food containers.
It would also be desirable to provide an apparatus for accelerated filling of the coolant reservoirs for self-chilling beverage and food containers.
These and other desirable characteristics of the present invention will become apparent in view of the present specification, including claims, and drawings.
The present invention comprises, in part, a method for charging of a heat exchange unit for a self-chilling container, wherein the self-chilling container includes an outer tubular member, an inner heat exchange unit that includes an inner closed end tubular container, and a volume therebetween for the containment of a consumable material, the inner heat exchange unit further including a closure and coolant release valve structure connected to an open end of the closed end tubular container, opposite the closed end of the closed end tubular container, the inner heat exchange unit further including a first heat exchange medium disposed in the closed end tubular container and operably configured for absorbing, under pressure, a second heat exchange medium, whereupon actuation of the closure and coolant release valve structure, the second heat exchange medium is released in gaseous form from the inner heat exchange unit, resulting in a release of heat from the inner heat exchange unit, so that heat is transferred from the consumable material into the inner heat exchange unit, the method comprising:
providing a filling machine, having at least one filling head operably connected to a source of second heat exchange medium;
the filling machine further having at least one refrigerant adapter operably connected to a source of refrigerant material;
inserting the partially constructed self-chilling container structure into the filling machine;
supplying refrigerant to the at least one refrigerant adapter, operably configured to deliver refrigerant into the partially constructed self-chilling container, to substantially surround the inner heat exchange unit,
positioning a filling head in juxtaposed relation to the closure and coolant release valve structure of the partially constructed self-chilling container;
supplying second heat exchange medium to the inner heat exchange unit of the partially constructed self-chilling can to at least partially charge the inner heat exchange unit.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method may further comprise the steps of:
mounting a partially constructed self-chilling container onto a supporting puck, the supporting puck being operably configured to mate with the at least one refrigerant adapter, to enable refrigerant supplied to the at least one refrigerant adapter to be received through the supporting puck into a coolant passage structure operably configured to surround the inner heat exchange unit of the partially constructed self-chilling container;
mating the at least one refrigerant adapter with the supporting puck.
The step of supplying refrigerant may further comprise the step of supplying refrigerant to the at least one refrigerant adapter and into the coolant passage.
The method may further comprise the steps of:
disengaging the filling head from the partially constructed self-chilling container;
disengaging the at least one refrigerant adapter from the supporting puck, leaving a quantity of refrigerant in the supporting puck to continue to absorb heat from the inner heat exchange unit of the partially self-chilling container.
The method may further comprise the steps of:
further successively charging the inner heat exchange unit of the partially constructed self-chilling container, until the inner heat exchange unit has received a quantity of second heat exchange medium to chill the consumable material in the self-chilling container, upon subsequent completion of construction of the self-chilling container and actuation of the closure and coolant release valve structure.
The present invention also comprises in part, an apparatus for charging of a heat exchange unit for a self-chilling container, wherein the self-chilling container includes an outer tubular member, an inner heat exchange unit that includes an inner closed end tubular container, and a volume therebetween for the containment of a consumable material, the inner heat exchange unit further including a closure and coolant release valve structure connected to an open end of the closed end tubular container, opposite the closed end of the closed end tubular container, the inner heat exchange unit further including a first heat exchange medium disposed in the closed end tubular container and operably configured for absorbing, under pressure, a second heat exchange medium, whereupon actuation of the closure and coolant release valve structure, the second heat exchange medium is released in gaseous form from the inner heat exchange unit, resulting in a release of heat from the inner heat exchange unit, so that heat is transferred from the consumable material into the inner heat exchange unit.
The apparatus comprises, in a preferred embodiment, a filling machine, having at least one filling head operably connected to a source of second heat exchange medium. At least one refrigerant adapter may be operably connected to a source of refrigerant material. The filling machine may further be operably configured to receive at least one partially constructed self-chilling container.
Means are provided for bringing the at least one partially constructed self-chilling container into operable connection with the at least one refrigerant adapter. Means are also provided for delivering refrigerant into the at least one partially constructed self-chilling container, to substantially surround the inner heat exchange unit.
At least one filling head is operably positionable in juxtaposed relation to the closure and coolant release valve structure of the partially constructed self-chilling container;
Means are provided for supplying second heat exchange medium to the inner heat exchange unit of the partially constructed self-chilling can to at least partially charge the inner heat exchange unit.
The apparatus may further comprise a supporting puck, for supporting a partially constructed self-chilling container, and operably configured to mate with the at least one refrigerant adapter, to enable refrigerant supplied to the at least one refrigerant adapter to be received through the supporting puck into a coolant passage structure operably configured to surround the inner heat exchange unit of the partially constructed self-chilling container.
The present invention is also directed to a self-heating container for a consumable product, comprising:
an outer consumable material container;
an inner heat exchange unit, including an outer heat exchange shell and an inner frangible membrane, the inner frangible membrane breachably dividing an interior volume of the outer heat exchange shell into a first region and a second region;
a rupture device, operably associated with the inner heat exchange unit and the inner frangible membrane, operably configured to selectively breach the membrane, to place the first and second regions into communication with one another;
a first reactant material stored in the first region;
a second reactant material stored in the second region;
the first and second reactant materials being selected from those materials that are separately and upon reaction with one another, non-toxic, and which produce an exothermic reaction when in each other""s presence.